WINONA, Minn. — Saint Mary's University men's tennis coach Jeff Halberg could not have scripted a better start to the season than the one his Cardinals gave him Saturday afternoon.
 
Saint Mary's lost just three games in doubles and 18 in six singles matches, as the Cardinals rolled to a 9-0 nonconference victory over Martin Luther at the Winona Tennis Center.
 
"What a great way to kick off the season," said Halberg. "It was a great performance, top to bottom. The guys came out quickly and really rode that wave of momentum. Hopefully we can carry that over to (Sunday's match) against Carleton."
 
Saint Mary's made quick work of the Knights in the three doubles matches, with Evan Huemoeller (Owatonna, Minn.)/Brendon Raabolle (Andover, Wis.) posting an 8-0 win at No. 1, followed by an 8-2 victory by Matt Besek (Winona, Minn.)/Caden Rodning (Mason City, Iowa) at No. 2, and an 8-1 triumph from Tucker Stene (Fridley, Minn.) and Philip Apel (North Oaks, Minn.) at No. 3.
 
And the Cardinals never took their foot off the accelerator when they shifted to the singles portion of the match.
 
Stene led the singles charge, posting back-to-back 6-0 wins at No. 3, while Besek was a 6-1 winner at No. 6, and Rodning and Raabolle added 6-2, 6-1 and 6-1, 6-2 victories at No 4 and No. 2, respectively. Huemoeller and Apel rounded out the sweep with 6-1, 6-4 victories at No. 1 and No. 5.
 
The Cardinals (1-0 overall) are right back in action on Sunday, when they welcome Carleton to the Winona Tennis Center for a 1:30 p.m. Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference showdown..